foraged food

Before I begin telling you about the wonderful things you can do with the staghorn sumac let me be clear; there is a poisonous sumac but this is not the variety I’m suggesting you eat. The sumac you need to avoid has white berries while the staghorn sumac has red berries. There are other differences as well.Staghorn sumac grows in dry areas. I was told a long time ago if your feet aren’t in water, it’s not poison sumac. The leaves are also different in shape. If you are unsure of the plant do not eat it! The staghorn sumac has been used to make teas, a drink similar to lemonade, spice, and for medicinal uses for hundreds, if not thousands of years. There are other varieties of edible sumac but this post is about the staghorn sumac exclusively.